Gay Voices

Student Expelled, Charged With Felonies For Same-Sex Relationship

2013-05-19T17:08:21Z

A Florida teenager faces criminal charges stemming from her relationship with another young female student.

Kaitlyn Hunt, 18, faces two felony counts of "lewd and lascivious battery on a child 12 to 16" after the parents of her 15-year-old girlfriend pressed charges earlier this year, according to Examiner.

"These people never came to us as parents, never tried to speak to us... and tell us they had a problem with the girls dating," Kaitlyn Hunt's mother, Kelley Hunt-Smith, wrote in an statement posted to Facebook. "...They were out to destroy my daughter. [They] feel like my daughter 'made' their daughter gay."

According to Hunt-Smith, police arrived at the family's home Feb. 16 and put her daughter in handcuffs. Local news website TCPalm.com listed Kaitlyn Hunt's arrest for "lewd and lascivious battery" on Feb. 18, and the girl's mug shot is still easily accessible on the Internet.

But the trouble didn't stop there. The other girl's parents repeatedly tried to have Kaitlyn, a senior, expelled from school. Despite the Sebastian River High School administration's denial of their request, and a judge's order allowing Kaitlyn to remain in school (so long as the girls had no contact), the 15-year-old's parents successfully petitioned the school board to have Hunt removed from school weeks prior to graduation.

According to Hunt-Smith's statement, Kaitlyn attended an "alternative school" for the remainder of her senior year, but will be allowed to attend senior events and graduate from Sebastian River High School. The Huffington Post reached out to Sebastian River High School administration for comment, but requests were not returned as of press time.

Hunt-Smith wrote that the girls had started dating at the beginning of the school year, and that their "mutual consenting relationship" had been known to both parents for months prior to the arrest.

The state attorney's office has offered Kaitlyn Hunt a plea deal which includes two years' house arrest and a year of probation, which would stay on her adult record and limit her career choices, according to Examiner.

Although local media appear to have been largely silent on the case, public outcry over the charges against Kaitlyn Hunt has erupted in an outpouring of support on the Internet.

A Change.org petition urging the Indian River County State Attorney's Office to stop prosecution of Kaitlyn Hunt had drawn more than 30,000 signatures at time of writing. "Free Kate," a Facebook group supporting the girl had amassed more than 10,000 followers.

Internet activist group Anonymous launched #OpJustice4Kaitlyn on May 19, releasing a statement addressed to the Indian River County State Attorney's Office that reads in part:

"Kaitlyn Hunt is a bright young girl who was involved in a consensual, same-sex relationship while both she and her partner were minors. She has a big future ahead of her and there are people, thousands of people in fact, that have no intention of allowing you to ruin it with your rotten selective enforcement."

WATCH: Rainbow Graduation Celebrates Inclusion At University Of Iowa

2013-05-19T16:00:24Z

This week thousands of seniors will collect their diplomas, but one celebration had special significance for the gay community at University of Iowa.

What Does 'Drag Race' Winner Jinkx Wear Under Those Gowns?

2013-05-19T15:27:57Z

Drag star and the winner of "RuPaul's Drag Race" Season Five, Jinkx Monsoon recently sat down with the Underwear Expert for an exclusive interview.

During the interview, Monsoon discussed how his life "hasn't" changed since "Drag Race," being a fan favorite, his favorite crewman, favorite underwear and more.

The campy queen said that every aspect of his life is different now and he feels more realized.

"I usually say, ‘How hasn’t it changed?’ Because literally every aspect of my life is different now," Monsoon said. "I’ve learned so much about myself as a person and as a performer. I just feel like a more fully realized drag queen and a more fully realized human being."

What Monsoon said he didn't realize was that the "Drag Race" audience loved his kooky demeanor. He was surprised about being a fan favorite because of his quirkiness.

"I just thought I would be too much of an acquired taste for people, just a little bit too kooky for your average Drag Race viewer," he said. "But I was excited to see that the audience liked it—that they got where I was coming from, and that there are a lot of people out there who feel similarly about life, love and drag! "

The new "Drag Becomes Him" star excitedly gushed about what type of underwear works for him when he's in drag. He said that he just wears basic underwear.

"When I am in drag, I wear men’s underwear pulled up. What I do is I wear soft-top cotton briefs, I tuck my junk in between my legs and then I pull my briefs up past my bellybutton and turn them into a thong, and that keeps all my stuff in place for the evening," he said.

"I think they’re just basic cotton underwear from H&M, and that’s what I use to tuck with."

He then went on to add,"Not every drag queen does it that way, but that’s the way that’s worked for me my whole life."

After being crowned America's Next Drag Superstar, Monsoon swiftly became the star of another new show. He's now the subject of Alex Berry's YouTube docu-series called, "Drag Becomes Him", referencing the 1992 film, "Death Becomes Her" starring Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn.

Read the full interview here.

Daniel Radcliffe's 'Step-By-Step' Process For Steamy Gay Love Scene

2013-05-19T15:10:02Z

In "Kill your Darlings," slated for release later this year, Daniel Radcliffe plays Allen Ginsberg, who befriends writers William Burroughs and Jack Kerouac while in college. The "Harry Potter" veteran, 23, didn't shy away from exploring his character's bisexual side in the movie, which is based on a true story of a murder that entangles the three writers.

On next week's episode of "The Graham Norton Show," Radcliffe reveals how director John Krokidas gave him "step-by-step instructions," including kissing critiques, before the controversial gay sex scenes were shot.

“I was doing a gay sex scene and the director was giving step-by-step instructions," Radcliffe toward Norton, as quoted by Pink News. "And the favorite note I have ever had was when we were kissing and the director shouted, ‘Not like that. Crazy sex kissing!’"

"The Graham Norton Show" airs stateside on BBC America Thursdays at 10.

Alex Berg: Move Over, Gaybros: Masculine Privilege Thrives Among Queer Women Too

2013-05-19T14:51:24Z

A subreddit called "Gaybros" recently became a target of ire -- and support -- for creating a space for gay men with "traditionally male interests," as described by creator Alexander DeLuca on The Good Men Project. Many derided the group for elevating traditional masculine traits and thus perpetuating misogyny among gay men, but as a queer woman, I see that this form of masculine privilege doesn't just operate in the gay community. We too have our own "lezbros," and I'm not talking about the straight men who are our friends.

There's a particular New York lesbian party that might be the natural habitat for the lezbro. The party features minimally clothed, hyperfeminine go-go dancers performing routines as a sea of women fist-pump and drool and throw dollar bills. There, many lesbians appropriate fratty personas, using pickup lines that might have originated in the mouths of men catcalling women on the street. Party culture itself shouldn't be conflated with misogyny, yet I find it impossible not to call this display objectification, even though it's at the hands of other women.

In these spaces, it can be challenging, at times, to find the line between queer masculinity and masculinity as it is performed by straight men. "The way in which masculinity interacts with naked feminine bodies, it's undifferentiated; the way queer masculinity interacts is almost the same," Cyree Jarelle Johnson, editor of Femme Dreamboat and contributing writer to Elixher.com, told me in a conversation about the notion of the lezbro. "And to me that's a problem, because when it's a man, we think of it as sexism," Johnson added.

But fist pumps and lap dances don't a lezbro make, at least not on their own. Lately, I've seen a spate of tweets, Facebook statuses and OKCupid profiles deriding feminine queer people. From "no femme pillow queens" disclaimers on dating profiles to a series of tweets calling for loyal femme partners over "bitches," these statements are, at best, veiled misogyny, hatred of anything feminine packaged as the desire for someone with a "more" radical queer identity in a poorly worded dating advertisement. Kate Severance, who writes the column Butch Please for Autostraddle, noted in a conversation that this conduct reinforces a hierarchy. "I think that there are certain modes of presentation in terms of butchness in conduct that allows us to create a queer hegemony and sit on top of it. That's in the commodification of feminine bodies that happens in the bro-y conduct," Severance said.

Much has been written about butch vs. femme privilege, and undoubtedly all identities are faced with different -- but no less legitimate -- modes of oppression. As a feminine queer woman who dates people all across the gender contiuum, and as a white, middle-class one at that, I certainly have privileges that my masculine-of-center peers do not. I don't fear for my safety in public spaces, because I'm seldom read as queer, and I'm never questioned about my gender, because I look normative. But perhaps pitting butch and femme identities against each other is too limited when examining the impact of masculine privilege on our communities. After all, my own appearance borders on high femme, yet I too am guilty of being a lezbro: I've brought my own "male gaze" to parties with go-go dancers, I sometimes have "bro-time" with certain queer female friends (no girlfriends allowed), and I've certainly described women's bodies in a manner of speech that I learned from my straight male friends, mostly because I thought it was the cool thing to do.

Coolness, of course, is at the heart of lezbro-ness, because masculinity itself is considered cool outside and inside the LGBTQ community: "Choosing masculinity to be cool is privilege," Johnson said. Thus, when someone is masculine in certain contexts, they reap the benefits of such a value. That alone is a form of social currency wherein femininity becomes lesser by virtue of what it is not.

Lezbros, or anyone who engages in the conduct I have named above, really just present the latest intersection of masculine privilege within the lesbian community. "When you're socialized as a girl, you go through life self-conscious of your body," Severance said. "So when you enter a space and suddenly become a person who is treated like a man in so many ways, you get high off of that feeling." Masculine privilege isn't innate to any one identity among queer women, but when we perpetuate certain behaviors, we certainly strengthen its hold.

Stefon Marries Anderson Cooper In Final Show

2013-05-19T14:36:11Z

With the announcement that this season of "Saturday Night Live" is Bill Hader's last, the troubling news only meant one thing for many: That we will no longer get weekly updates from Stefon, the flamboyant New York City nightlife correspondent on Weekend Update.

In his final appearance, try not to get choked up as Stefon finally finds the strength to get away from Seth Meyers and go marry a man who deserves him: Anderson Cooper (who appears as himself).

Watch as Seth breaks up the wedding "The Graduate" style, surrounded by hundreds of the colorful nightlife characters he's talked about over the years.

It's that thing where we don't want to have to say goodbye, but we have to. See you around, Stefon.

Marissa Higgins: I Want to Be Safe in NYC But I Feel Like a Monster

2013-05-18T21:41:33Z

"Just keep walking," we mumble in unison and I feel her fingers drop from mine.

It's a practice well-learned, the art of coming together and slipping apart -- every corner starts not with a footstep but with a glance forward, every kiss begins and ends with darting eyes above a smile. Sometimes people smile -- women with strollers whose babies reach out and gurgle, old couples who nod slowly in silent recognition and acceptance.

Sometimes it's the long, long stare that goes right through my body. It starts at my neck as my skin turns red and my face folds into a scowl. It pushes through my clothes layer by layer, until it's sinking in me and it's the nausea in my stomach and it's the sweat behind my knees. The people look different -- some are young, some are old, some are white, some are brown, some are black, some are men, some are women, some are in groups in business suits and some are alone in running gear but the stare is the same -- hate, wonderment, and fear with the same morbid fascination of a child at the freak show. It's there as we approach whether we're laughing or talking or kissing or arguing, and it's there as we pass, and as we keep going a little faster than before and as we take the long way home or to our restaurant of choice because it's scarier being followed inside -- at least outside people might protect you.

We're lucky to live in New York City. Our marriage is legal here. There is an active GLBTQ presence in the city, from the gay bars, to the book clubs, to the parades and it is inspiring and welcoming and real. We live in a one-bedroom apartment in a safe area. Only one of us has faced discrimination in the work place.

We are lucky, but we are also afraid.

Several weeks ago my wife and I wanted a burger. We went into a chain restaurant in Chelsea, ordered, and got a booth. My wife helped a woman with the soda machine -- one of those big light up ones with all of the options. The woman smiled and thanked her. She and her daughter ended up at the booth next to ours -- at least until she saw us kiss on the lips.

It was a small peck, the well-learned art of coming together and slipping apart, but it was all it took. She said nothing, but moved herself and her daughter across the dining area. Her daughter stared at us from across the restaurant until they left soon after. When I walked by to get more ketchup her eyes followed me. I felt nervous and sad and quickened my step. When I turned she smiled a little and I smiled back. Her eyes were big and brown and sad. I'm not a monster, I wanted to say.

She was about 5-years-old.

The recent anti-gay hate crimes are terrifying and sad. The pain and violence should be experienced by no one and the victims have my deepest support. Many GLBTQ groups and communities are speculating on what we can do to make our city safer, to make it okay to hold hands outside again.

I don't have an answer for those questions, but I wish I did.

Over her french fries and diet Coke a 5-year-old girl saw me become a monster and learned what hate was. When my wife kisses me goodbye in front of my office in midtown, I feel that little girl's stare over and over, but aged 30 years. It's hateful, but it's also scared, and if I look hard enough I even see that little bit of awe.

When I hold my wife's hand I only want to feel her skin in my palm and our rings clink together. I only want to feel safe. We want to inspire but we hope that in time we'll be inspiring a lot more love and a lot less hate.

New York Man Killed In Alleged Anti-Gay Hate Crime

2013-05-18T18:45:29Z

UPDATE May 19 at 12:52 p.m. EST: A New York Times report has identified the victim as Mark Carson, 32, and the suspect as 33-year-old Elliot Morales.

In what may be the latest in a disturbing series of crimes allegedly targeting New York's gay community, a man was fatally shot in the head May 18 while walking through the West Village.

As NBC is reporting, local law enforcement officials are investigating the case as a hate crime after learning the suspect, who was arrested just blocks from the scene, allegedly hurled a series of anti-gay insults at the 32-year-old victim before shooting him.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told the Associated Press that the suspect referred to the victim, who has been identified in the media only as a Brooklyn resident, and his companion as "gay wrestlers" after encountering them on the street shortly after midnight.

The suspect then shot the victim, who was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, in the face.

“This fully looks to be a hate crime; a bias crime,” Kelly is quoted by CBS as saying. “There were no words that would aggravate the situation that were spoken by the victims. They did not know the confronter."

Meanwhile, the New York Post points to another bizarre detail. Roughly 20 minutes before the shooting, a bartender confronted the suspect, who had been caught urinating on the wall of a nearby bar. The suspect is said to have then threatened to shoot the bartender, noting, “Do you know about the shooting in Sandy Hook?”

Among those to decry the shooting was New York mayoral hopeful Christine Quinn, who said she was "horrified" to learn of the case on Twitter:

Quinn then added:

The case follows an alleged attack on another gay man just outside of another popular New York hotspot. ABC 7 reports that the victim, who was not identified, was coming out of the West Village gay bar Pieces when he was attacked by two men who were yelling gay slurs. He was not seriously hurt.

On May 5, another gay Brooklyn couple was allegedly knocked to the ground by four men emerging from a New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden. The alleged culprits shouted anti-gay slurs at the pair in broad daylight, according to the report.

Meanwhile, two 21-year-old suspects, Asllan Berisha and Brian Ramirez, were arrested and charged with gang assault and assault as a hate crime in connection with yet another alleged anti-gay attack this month, according to the Post.

Singer Featured On Gay Anthem 'Same Love' Opens Up

2013-05-18T17:49:34Z

When Mary Lambert was 6 years old, she taught herself to play piano and performed in front of an audience of rapt Beanie Babies.

Often home by herself, Lambert told The Huffington Post she would practice bowing to her plush -- or imaginary -- audiences, and sit for phantom interview with talk show host Jay Leno.

"I grew up in a really traumatic, abusive household," Lambert said during a video chat, adding that performing in front of a (fake) crowd served as a form of escape.

About 17 years later, what started as a child's way of transcending her surroundings has become a full-blown career that has taken the 24-year-old across the country and even onto the set of Ellen DeGeneres.

The Seattle-based singer, songwriter and poet rocketed onto the national stage with the 2012 release of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' moving single "Same Love," an instant anthem for gay rights and same-sex marriage advocates around the world.

The song went double platinum in Australia and rose to No. 89 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer notes. The lyrics are straightforward, yet powerful, and the chorus beautifully embodies the soul of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movement:

And I can't change
Even if I tried
Even if I wanted to
I can't change
Even if I try
Even if I wanted to
My love

Lambert wrote the chorus' hook in two hours. At points tender, plaintive and unapologetic, the "Same Love" chorus draws on Lambert's experiences as a queer woman growing up in a tumultuous, Christian upbringing. The repeating line, "Not crying on Sundays," for example, echoes the way she felt after leaving Sunday services at the conservative Mars Hill Church in Seattle.

For years, Lambert apologized to God for her same-sex attractions, she told the Seattle Times.

“I fought it for a long time,” she told the outlet. “Then I fell in love with another girl and then I decided I would repent every day, because I knew I wasn’t going to change. But that was absurd.”

Tellingly, although "Same Love" is sung by a straight man (Macklemore, real name Ben Haggerty), Lambert's chorus references "her love."

"When I came out, I said, 'I'm going to be a proud gay artist," Lambert told HuffPost, adding that she doesn't mean she's only going to make "gay music."

"I'm not going to be Melissa Etheridge," Lambert said, laughing. "But she's a goddess!"

A beautiful woman with long, reddish-brown hair and dimples, Lambert said her looks still confuse people.

"It's an interesting thing about being a 'fem,'" she told HuffPost. "People automatically assume that I'm straight."

"Same Love," isn't about a best friend, she notes -- she wrote it about her longtime girlfriend, Rachel.

Being a queer singer/songwriter can still be difficult, especially for someone at the beginning of her career. Iconic, openly gay entertainers are still few and far between, and so many of the anthems associated with the LGBT movement have been sung by straight artists, such as Macklemore or Pink.

"There is a fear [you will] alienate your audience," she said. "I've struggled with this too. Do I want to say 'she?' What pronouns do I use when I want it to be about universal love? But at the same time you don't want to hide."

A talented writer and slam poet (she actually won Seattle Grand Slam poetry competition in 2011), Lambert's intimate style incorporates both vocal, instrumental and spoken word elements.

Her first EP, "Letters Don't Talk," showcases this experimental side with her single “I Know Girls (bodylove)” standing out as the best example of this hybrid artistic approach.

At times, Lambert's lyrics are so sharp, they hurt. With themes including self-mutilation, abuse and body image, the song “I Know Girls (bodylove)” has an aching poignancy that sticks with you long after the guitar chords have faded.

"I wrote 'Body Love' when I was 20," Lambert said. "It was in a time in my life when I was really reckless and destructive -- all those things were what I was thinking."

Four years later, Lambert said the piece is still a mantra she returns to, and it acts as a catharsis. People continue to come up to her after performances crying, she said. In an interview with Autostraddle, Lambert said she writes "songs to cry to." (Lambert, herself, cries a great deal, she said.)

Her shows are designed as safe spaces where crying is acceptable and even encouraged. Lambert said that when her mother comes to shows, she's always the loudest crier in the room.

"I think I've always operated with the idea that vulnerability is what connect us to humanity, and to other people in our communities," Lambert said. "When I do shows, I'm talking about my abuse and being bipolar, I'm talking about rape ... There's definitely a lot of darkness in my writing, and sadness and grief. But i think those are all important forms of expression."

Women might be starting to feel able to talk about these types of topics, but Lambert said there's still a stigma associated with being "emotionally vulnerable."

After taking some time off, Lambert is touring sparingly this spring -- she heads to New York City's SubCulture lounge May 21 -- and she's re-releasing her EP in Europe and meeting with labels to discuss the possible production of a full-length album. She also has a book out -- a poetry collection called "500 Tips For Fat Girls."

Lambert said that she wants to continue pushing forward with her songwriting. She gets emails throughout the week from women who say her music has helped them seek counseling for eating disorders or has helped them find the courage to come out of the closet.

"To be able to make art that affects them that way, and gives them power and strength and courage," she said, then hesitated, smiling. "It feels bold and egotistical to say that, but there are albums that I have listened to that do that, and maybe it's not absurd to think that I could do that, too."

Mary Lambert heads to New York City on Tuesday, May 21 for a 7:30 p.m. show at SubCulture on Bleecker Street. You can check out some of Lambert's music and read excerpts from her poetry at www.marylambertsings.com.

MTV Legend Recalls Heavy Metal Frontman's Anti-Gay T-Shirt Controversy

2013-05-18T16:23:57Z

MTV veteran Kurt Loder recalled an infamous 1989 controversy involving Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach in an appearance on HuffPost Live this week.

Though he defended the singer as "a nice guy," Loder said homophobia "wasn't unusual" in hard rock circles when Bach donned a T-shirt which read, "AIDS kills fags dead."

In 2010, Complex Magazine named Bach's shirt one of "The 50 Worst Rock Fails Of All Time."

During the interview, Loder also took time to discuss Minnesota's same-sex marriage victory. Calling marriage equality "the wave of the future," he noted, "If people want to be married, go ahead ... The more freedom we have in this country, the better off we are."

Watch the full segment on HuffPost Live.

French President Signs Gay Marriage Into Law

2013-05-18T16:10:02Z

PARIS — France will see its first gay weddings within days, after French President Francois Hollande signed a law Saturday authorizing marriage and adoption by same-sex couples and ending months of nationwide protests and wrenching debate.

Hollande's office said he signed the bill Saturday morning, a day after the Constitutional Council struck down a challenge to the law and ruled it in line with France's constitution.

Hollande, a Socialist, had made legalizing gay marriage one of his campaign pledges last year. While polls for years have shown majority support for gay marriage in France, adoption by same-sex couples is more controversial.

The parliamentary debate exposed a deep conservatism and attachment to traditional families in France's rural core that is often eclipsed by and at odds with libertine Paris.

But mostly, it tapped into deep discontent with the Socialist government, largely over Hollande's handling of the economy. Months of anti-gay marriage protests became a flashpoint for frustrations with Hollande, and occasionally degenerated into violence.

In addition, gay rights groups reported a rise in attacks on homosexuals as the parliamentary debate was under way. Protest organizers distanced themselves from the trouble-makers.

The opposition isn't ready to give up. It plans a protest May 26 that aims to parlay the success of the anti-gay marriage movement into a broader anti-Hollande one. Among those expected to attend is Jean-Francois Cope, the leader of the opposition UMP party, riven by divisions and struggling for direction since Nicolas Sarkozy lost the presidency last year.

Hollande warned that he wouldn't accept any disruption of France's first gay marriages.

One couple signed up Saturday to tie the knot on May 29 in the gay-friendly southern French city of Montpellier.

"We're very happy that today we can finally talk of love after all the talk of legislation and political battles," one of the future newlyweds, Vincent Autin, said on France-Info radio.

According to French law, couples must register to marry in city hall and wait at least 10 days before holding a ceremony so that anyone objecting to the union – such as an existing spouse – has time to intervene.

Marketing whizzes are already preparing lesbian and gay cake toppers, his-and-his wedding bands, and other services for France's gay weddings.

Despite the protests, the law passed easily in both houses of parliament, which are dominated by Hollande's Socialists. And the Constitutional Council said, "Marriage as a union between a man and a woman cannot be considered a fundamental principle."

France is the most populous country to have legal gay marriages, and the 14th country worldwide. In the United States, Minnesota became the 12th state in the country to legalize same-sex unions on Tuesday.

In neighboring Belgium, thousands of people took to the confetti-covered streets of Brussels to take part in an annual gay pride march on Saturday. Trucks blasting music and carrying dance floors made their way through cheering crowds. Belgium legalized gay marriage 10 years ago and permitted adoption for same-sex couples seven years ago.

Franne Golde and Syd Fox: Love More, Fear Less: A Mother and Her Child Share Their Incredible Journey

2013-05-18T15:24:04Z

Franne:

It was a primal scream that went right through me and sent distress signals to my heart. My beautiful 4-year-old daughter stood up in the bathtub as though she were possessed. "Mommy, I'm supposed to be a boy. God made a mistake!" she screamed through heaving tears. Somehow I stayed calm, put my arms around her and tried to calm her down.

We talked and talked over the next several years, and I spent hours on the Internet looking for children's books, social groups, summer camps, films, anything that might help Syd feel less alone and isolated. There just wasn't anything for children who questioned their gender or felt different, unless they were older.

School was torture. I dropped her off, and then I pretended to drive off but instead parked across the street and watched as she tried to navigate the schoolyard, a daunting task for even the bravest. I was heartbroken. A million memories of her nine years on the planet went through my head.

She was adopted at birth and was diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum. Then there were the many psycho-educational tests, therapies and her ongoing gender questions. We tried switching schools for middle school, but by the time sixth grade was coming to an end, things still didn't feel right for Syd. She was gifted, had some learning challenges and was desperate to be a real boy.

Syd:

Mom and I were watching TV and saw two little girls who were born boys, and I responded, "Mom, that's me, only opposite! My brain and my heart feel like a boy."

Franne:

Like any good mother I tracked down the doctor who was on the show, and to my surprise she was right here in L.A., at Children's Hospital. We went to several appointments, and Syd went through several years of psychotherapy with a gender specialist.

It was quite by accident that we next landed at Bridges Academy, a school for twice-gifted children. It was there that Syd began to blossom and I first heard about the LifeWorks Mentoring program. I called them immediately and was told that it was for kids between the ages of 14 and 24. My heart sank as I told them, "Syd is 12. But please, just meet her. See if you think she'd fit in."

We went the following day and met founder Michael Ferrera, Dan Dumont and Dinorah Garcia. They all agreed that Syd would be a great addition to LifeWorks and were willing to give it a try.

Syd:

I finally had a place to land, a place to get my questions answered, make deep friendships with kids like me and have a home away from home with people who accepted and understood me.

Within a couple of months LifeWorks moved to the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center at McCadden Place, and soon thereafter, they introduced me to a hand-picked mentor, Moore Rhys, an exceptional woman who provided me with a year of Sundays and more. She shared her life and her wisdom and gave me information, guidance, respect and love, and we've cultivated a lifelong friendship as a result.

Beyond the LifeWorks program, the center has provided me with many friendships and all kinds of classes, and it has brought me into the community. I couldn't be more thankful to Lorri Jean, Bill McDermott and the coordinators of "An Evening With Women" for all the opportunities they've given me. I spread the word to anyone and everyone who needs a place like I did.

I am hoping to be accepted into CalArts next year to pursue my life-long dream of making LGBT animated films for a starving generation of kids like me. LifeWorks has been so supportive and pro-active in helping me achieve my dream.

Franne:

I always tell Syd that what's most important is that she is a loving, compassionate, kind, understanding and honest person. She is smart, creative, intuitive and mature way beyond her years, but she's also a man living in a woman's body and likes it. This could change in six weeks, six months, six years or never, but whatever Syd chooses, we all have her back.

Fast-forward a bit, and Syd's doctors have concluded that she is not autistic. Artistic? Yes! Eccentric? Yes! Emotionally delayed? No! Socially delayed? Well, for a girl, a little bit, but for a boy, it's pretty typical 17-year-old behavior.

Syd:

The bottom line is that it doesn't matter what you call me: eccentric, artistic, tomboy, gay, transgender, genderqueer, delayed, out-of-sync. I may be all or none of those things. I love myself just the way I am. What I know for sure is that I am a human being who needs love and acceptance, like we all do. It is my birthright, and I get it from my entire family, my LifeWorks family and the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center. Look out, world, here I come!

The Best Gay Videos Of The Week

2013-05-18T15:23:18Z

This week from Gwist! Lesbians and Straights square off in "The Spousal Equivalent Game," Alec Mapa and gay comics share stories in "Gwissues with Howard Bragman," Miss Richfield 1981 talks body hair with the steam room guys on SRS Live, and Emily and Liz share some lesbian long-distance wisdom on "Dykeotomy."

(Warning: Some topics may be unsuitable for all audiences.)

1. Gwissues -- "Why Gay Comedians have S*** To Talk About"
Erin Foley, Alec Mapa, and Dave Rubin discuss why gays have the best material right now, and why audiences are starved for LGBT humor.

2. The Spousal Equivalent Game -- "Older Gay Men vs. Young Lesbians"
Gay couple Don and Robert battle young lesbian couple Emily and Liz to see who knows more about their partner!

3. SRS Live With Miss Richfield 1981 -- "Hair Today! Gone Tomorrow! Wolverine Syndrome"
Body hair: Is it sexy or no? The Steam Room boys dish about their own hair preferences just in time for summer!

4. Dykeotomy -- "Does Long Distance EVER Work?"
Liz and Emily give you the low-down on how to keep a long-distance relationship from going down the toilet.

For moe on Gwist, head here.

RuPaul's Sassy New Music Video

2013-05-18T14:39:09Z

Just in time for the weekend! RuPaul and Lady Bunny want you know that they've got flavor.

Cherry, grape, lemon-lime, strawberry, kiwi and peach -- that is.

The fairy drag mother, just released his new video, "Lick It Lollipop," where the Wigstock queen makes a flavorful appearance. This is the follow up to RuPaul's "The Beginning" video, where a few "Drag Race" contestants made cameos.

Check out the video above.

Why I'm Not Interested In Being A 'Good' Transgender Woman

2013-05-18T14:34:58Z

A month or two after I started living full time out as woman, one of my friends suggested I talk to an acquaintance of his, an older trans woman who had been out for years. My friend thought his acquaintance might be able to give me some tips on surviving as a trans woman. I was thrilled. Here, I though, was someone who had the answers. Surely she would be able to point me in the right direction. We had arranged to meet in a coffee shop. In my excitement I arrived an hour early. It was going to be awesome.

What actually happened was that she showed up and asked why I wasn't dressed like a woman. I was wearing skinny jeans, a studded belt, and an ironic t-shirt. I liked how I looked. I looked, in my opinion, like a queer woman in her mid-twenties on her day off, which, shockingly, I was.